I was reading this great fic called Acherontia Atropos by "someone" (I don't remember!), and I was also reading this book called Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, and I got an idea for a fic. Both are very good stories, I suggest you read the fic and buy the book. The vampire information is sorta made up by me, and sorta taken from various vamp stories, so please don't yell at me for getting something wrong. Chances are that I messed with the facts on purpose. Anyway, enough rambling, on with the fic! BTW, this is my first GW fic, there is some violence, strong language and it has the yaoi pairings of DuoxHeero, and QuatrexTrowa. So if you don't like male/male pairings, then don't read this!

Eternity of Blood

Part 1

By: Top Ace

I walked down the street with my buddies from the war. Trowa Barton, the apathetic guy with REALLY good balance (you should have seen him at our last party; he drank five shots but you couldn't tell) and Quatre Raberba Winner, the empathic boy with the heart of the universe. They walked hand in hand, looking into each other's eyes. Wufei Chang, justice boy. He had calmed down a lot in the past few years. He's even settled down with Sally and they're expecting their first child in a few months. He calmly walked with us, glasses in his pocket and a book in his hand. Heero Yuy, no longer the Perfect Soldier, but still rough on the edges. But once you got inside... Well, anyway. Then there's me. Duo Maxwell, Shinigami! At least for vampires. Maybe I should explain.

I've always had an affinity for the dead. I always identified myself with death, with dying and these sorts of things. It wasn't until I got attacked by a vampire that I realized that I wasn't just Shinigami by name... I was also by blood. Usually, if you look into the eyes of a vampire, you get "turned", put under their control. I didn't. Well, the vampire wasn't too happy about this, and tried to kill me. Good thing it saw the cross I keep on a chain around my neck...

Then a lady named Anita snuck into my apartment that night and told me that I had the ability to be a "slayer," or one who kills vampires. A vampire hunter. Great, I had thought at the time. Which one of the guys had thought this up? Then I got attacked again, by two vampires. Fortunately, Anita was backing me up, and we got rid of them. Vampires are quite powerful, unless you have the right equipment. Holy water, a gun loaded with silver bullets and a couple of crosses usually do the trick, unless they're really powerful vamps. Then you'd be dead.

Anita snuck into my apartment again (I've been meaning to change the locks, but I don't think it'll matter) and told me that I had some connection with the dead. She was very vague, no details whatsoever. All she said was to be careful and to watch my back. She even gave me a gun, two actually, a Browning and a 9mm Firestar. I keep the Browning on a holster on my bedpost. The Firestar is always on me whenever I go out. Not that I'm paranoid or anything. But the thought of being attacked by another vamp makes one cautious, you see. I would have liked a shotgun too, but she said that I probably wouldn't need it... yet. Great.

Nothing weird had happened since then. Now I was just a normal 20-year old, chilling out with my friends and carrying a gun. Yup, that was normality.

Back to the present. Heero was walking in front of me, that usual tensed up gait that he had, as if something was stalking him. I should be the one with that walk, I thought. He doesn't have to worry about vampires. All five of us walked along, enjoying the day. Well, all of us except Heero. He always seemed like he hated to be around us or something.

*SCREECH!*

The screeching of tires brought me back from my musing. The car was headed straight for us. We ran. "Hey, where's Heero?" Quatre asked. My eyes widened and I twirled around. Heero just stood there, looking straight ahead. "You stupid fool! You're gonna get killed!" He jumped...

That boy never ceases to amaze me. He landed right on the hood, and punched through the glass. "Jeez..." I muttered as I watched him pull out the driver. I began to breathe a sigh of relief, when I saw that the car was still running. It ran into a pole, Heero flying from the hood. "HEERO!"

There was so much blood. Heero and the guy who had been aiming his car for us were leaking blood all around. I scooped Heero into my arms. I felt his neck. No pulse. I refused to believe he was dead. He had lived through so much... He couldn't be dead. I held him close, but his neck lolled to one side. I looked at his neck, so pale, so inviting...

Before I knew it, I had my fangs (!) sunk into his neck. I had no control. I just felt his life blood flowing through me, giving me life. My conscience screamed, No! This isn't right! But my body wouldn't give up, I just kept taking his blood, taking his life. It felt like an eternity, just sitting there, his body next to mine, his sweet blood flowing down my throat.

I finally stopped. I felt my teeth. The fangs had disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared. I looked at Heero. His eyes fluttered, then shot wide open.

"Am I still alive?"
"Uh... Sort of."
"Oh. What the hell did you do to me?"
"I resurrected your soul and immortalized your body. Now you have to drink blood to stay stable."
"Ah." *Faint*

It was the first time I had seen Heero faint. Then it hit me. What the hell have I done? What was it... what had I said? Oh, yeah. The stuff about the resurrecting of souls, immortalizing of bodies and drinking blood. Oh, that.

*Faint*

I woke up in my apartment. Or I thought it was my apartment, until I looked over and saw that the walls were peach and not beige. "This isn't my apartment, is it?" I asked to the air. Quatre's soothing voice came to my ears.

"We're at my house."
"Which one?"
"The one nearest your apartment."

Oh, that one. The one on the coast, overlooking San Francisco Bay. I got up and looked around. "Where's Heero?"

"He's here." Trowa walked in, Quatre reaching out for him. "He's in the room next door, but he's still unconscious." I jumped out of bed and raced for his room.

Heero lay on his back, his face totally peaceful. He looked so content when he was asleep, like he was dreaming of a different life, but sad as well. Then when he's awake he acts like he's superior to the rest of us, like he was soiling himself by being in our presence. But somehow, I managed to fall in love with that bastard. I smiled, looking at his serene yet melancholy expression. I was about to give him a small kiss when his eyes shot opened. He has a tendency of doing that. Whenever my eyes shoot open, I get a blast of light and I have to close them again. He just stared at me. Right through me...

"Uh, hi Heero!"
"What are you doing so close to my face?"
"Just... just checking for wounds or anything like that..."
"You're lying."
"What?"
"You're lying. Tell me why you're really in my face."

I paused for moment. How could he have known? I admit, he does see through others a lot more clearly than we do, but usually he either doesn't know or just plain ignores it when I lie. This time, he demanded the truth.

"Well?"
"..." For once I was speechless.
He grabbed my shirt. "Tell me."
"'Cause I wanted to kiss you." Why the hell did I tell him that? He... He has the eyes of a vampire...Oh shit.

Heero released me. "Oh." He turned over on the bed, his back facing me. I felt like my world had just shattered. But I still had hope. "You... You don't hate me, do you Heero?" Heero turned back around to face me, his blue eyes piercing me. "I don't hate you." That was all he said before he turned back around and fell asleep. My hope blossomed.

That week, I decided to track down Anita. She had mysteriously left my life as she had entered it. I needed her help, and I needed it now. I asked around, and I got a couple of leads, but they all led nowhere. Dammit.

It wasn't until three days after the accident that the side affects of the "resurrection" were starting to become apparent. Heero would wander around, his eyes lost. Whenever one of us wanted to talk to him, he just looked at us as if he was looking through a window. Then he would keep walking. Always walking, like a zombie. Jesus Christ, I did NOT want to think about zombies. Heero also looked paler than usual. MUCH paler.

"Hey Heero, are you okay?" Heero looked at me, no, THROUGH me, and I shuddered.
"I need blood."
I did a double take. "Wha... what? You need blood?"
He nodded. I looked down at the floor for a moment, then I looked back at him, into his eyes. God, his eyes look so... dead... "I'll give you some of my blood." Even as I said it, I couldn't believe what I was going to do. I was going to let Heero drink me.

He walked over to me, looking straight at me this time. His eyes could have bored a hole in gundanium. I stepped back, and he shot a hand towards me. I gasped. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me towards him. Heero's lips ran across my neck, slow, seductive. "Dammit Heero, what are you doing?"

Heero pulled his head back from nuzzling my neck to look at me. "I'm preparing you."
"Pre... Preparing me? For what?"
"To bite you."
"Oh... my god..." My throat went dry as Heero's eyes turned cold, predatory. He looked at me like I was his dinner. What am I talking about? I WILL be his dinner, in a few moments.

"Oh God, oh God, what have I done, oh God..." I prayed incessantly, in hopes that he wouldn't kill me. His lips returned to my neck, soft, delicate, and oh so gentle. This was the last thing I expected from Heero Yuy. As he left little kisses on the nape of my neck, I felt my skin electrify and become burning hot. "Don't worry," he nearly purred, "this won't hurt a bit..." I clenched involuntarily as he sunk his fangs into my neck.

Waves of pleasure pulsed through me. I knew what was going on. My blood, my life force was being sucked out of me. But I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to. I guess it was a reward for being the victim. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of Heero's mouth on me...

The pleasure stopped abruptly. "Heero?" He let go of my shoulder and took a step away from me. Blood, my blood, flowed down his chin. I resisted the urge to lick it off. Who says I don't have any self-control?

Heero wiped his chin with the back of his hand, then licked it off. All the while he was pinning me under his cobalt stare. I couldn't look away. Anita had told me that since I'm somehow related to the dead, I have at least a partial immunity to vamps. Then why was Heero in complete control? But I had no time to ponder that question, since I passed out from blood loss.

I was in a cave. A dark, damp cave. I heard the sound of water dripping. Around me, the cave was glowing slightly, probably from some glowing lichen or something. A voice echoed through the cavern. "Duo... Duo..." I traveled towards the voice. My steps made sloshy sounds in the dark. The voice got louder. "Duo... My son..."
"Father Maxwell?"
"My son..."
I started running towards the voice. When I found the source, I regretted having run here in the first place. Before me stood a man, pale, about 6 or 7 feet tall. Yeah, I'm really bad at estimating heights. But he was way taller than me and he looked menacing, so I just kept my distance. "Who are you?" I asked.
"Your father."
"Whoa, what? My father? You've gotta be kidding." I looked into his eyes, and I saw violet eyes. My eyes. It was like looking into a mirror. "No... This is just a dream, you can't be my dad."
The man nodded. "I am your father, and I need your help. You have my power. Please help me..."
I shook my head violently. "NO! I won't help someone who claims to be my father. Just leave me alone! I want outta here!"

The figure lifted a hand. I was suddenly frozen. I couldn't move a muscle. Fear flowed through my veins and made my heart beat like loud drum. He glided towards me and put a hand on my head. He touched my hair, running his fingers through it lightly, like a father would a son. "Your hair is like your mother's... She was beautiful, you know," he started to say. "She brought light into my world. Her hair was long like yours, and she would always braid it in gorgeous fashions. But what drew me to her the most was her personality. She saw everything as having a good side. She could see no evil. I guess that's why she didn't fear me when I bumped into her at a party. While everyone else had backed away from me, she took my hand and asked me to dance. I fell in love at that moment." He paused, looking into my eyes. "You have my eyes. You know it's true. Please, believe me."

For some reason, I felt it wise to believe him, for now. "Alright, let's say you ARE my father. Why did you leave me as an orphan, and why do you need me help?"

He smiled. "I did not have much of a choice. I'm dead."
"Well, you weren't dead when you conceived me, right?"
He shook his head.
"You WERE dead?"
He nodded.
"Oh boy... Alrighty then, explain yourself." I was starting to feel giddy and slightly hysterical. The man, if I could call him that, cleared his throat.

"Ever wonder why you made your love into a vampire? Ever wonder why vampires can't turn you?" I just nodded. "I am Shinigami, title and all. You are my son." My eyes widened just a bit. Wasn't I supposed to be Shinigami? I repeated one of my questions. "Okay, so why do you need my help?" He sighed, like this conversation was getting to him. "I'm getting old, if that's possible. I'm tired of being ruler of the undead. I want you to rule in my place, but the other vampires do not want that. They want a full-blooded vampire to rule. They tire of half-breeds ruling over them."
"Half-breeds?"
"I was a necromancer in my life. You do know what that is, right?"
I nodded. A necromancer was someone who could bring the dead back to life. But only after three days, so that the soul could fly far away from the body. Anita had told me that.
"So you've met Anita."
I looked up from my thoughts. "What?" Stupid vamps and their damn mind-reading abilities.
"She is an expert on supernatural things. I suppose she told you that you are related to the dead somehow, correct?"
I nodded. I've been doing that a lot lately.
"I bet she didn't tell you that you were relate TO death, huh?" He chuckled lightly. Then he continued. "I was made into a vampire when a rogue vampire bit me. So now, I am a vampire necromancer. With enough power to resurrect a whole cemetery."

I didn't give a damn about his powers or this entire ordeal, I just wanted out. "I don't care about your freakin' powers, and I don't care if you're my father or not, just get me the hell out of here and back home to" I stopped before I said it out loud, but not before thinking it. He raised an eyebrow. "Who is Heero?" I turned my head in defiance. "Forget it," I nearly growled. Shinigami chuckled again. "As you wish, my son." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly there was this blinding light and I saw no more.

"Ouch..." I woke up in Heero's room this time. My head was pounding. There were spots in my vision. I looked around, trying to regain my sight. One bite, and Shinigami became a vampire. I wondered if I would turn into a vampire after Heero's bite. Then my mind registered the touch of someone's arm around me. I moved a bit, and the arm clutched me tighter. I looked around to face the person who was holding me so possessively.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Heero lay there, a content smile on his face. He looked like an angel. You wouldn't believe that he was once a gundam pilot who had killed hundreds of soldiers. My heart melted as I watched him sigh and snuggle into my shoulder. I smiled to myself. He's so cute... I kissed his forehead, and I lingered to look closer. He was so perfect. I turned around fully and put my arms around him. Heero was warm and as I put my ear to his chest, I could hear his heartbeat. Steady as a drum. You couldn't tell that he was an undead vampire. At that thought, I backed off and tried to get out of bed. But with his new vampire strength he held me, and wouldn't let me go. I wanted to be near him, really I did, but I felt scared. Heero now had the power of ten men and probably the blood lust of a hungry lion. I had to get away. If I didn't, I would probably end up being his meal again. I don't think I could survive being a vamp's meal for more than a week. I had to learn more. More about this undead stuff. I had to talk to Anita.

I pushed myself away, but he still wouldn't let me go. I muttered, "Let go," in a commanding tone. Heero's grip softened and let me go. I got out of bed and went for the door. I looked back once, to see the same despondent expression that was on his face since I've known him. My heart felt a slight ping of guilt for leaving him, but he can take care of himself. Really. I put on my coat and I left Quatre's house. I had to find Anita, and find her as soon as possible.

It was late at night, a little past midnight. The last time I had walked outside in the middle of the night was when I got attacked. This time, I had a cross and a gun with silver bullets. Not enough to kill, but it would certainly slow a vamp down long enough for me to get my ass out of there.

"You shouldn't walk around late at night." I turned to look at the owner of that familiar voice. Anita stood in the glow of the streetlight, looking like your everyday vampire hunter. She wore a black shirt and loose fitting blue jeans. A black trench coat covered it all. She was short like me, with shoulder-length wavy black hair and a pale complexion. She probably had a few guns on her, not to mention a couple of knives, silver of course. I smiled a weary smile, and walked towards her. "You know, you're a hard person to find."
"I try to make it that way."
I laughed. Then I asked her for more information about my heritage. I also told her about the dream I had. "Hm," Anita said after my story was complete, "Come with me." I followed her, not in the least afraid. Well, maybe just a little.

We went inside her apartment. It was nice and cozy, something you wouldn't expect from someone who killed vamps on a weekly basis. There was a small kitchen to the left, a hallway leading to a bedroom and probably another room in the center, and to the left was the living room. She took off her trench coat and threw it on the sofa in the living room. "Take a load off, you're gonna be here for awhile." I felt kind of uneasy when she said that, but I plopped down on the sofa and propped my feet up on the table. "And don't put your feet on the table," she said from somewhere. I hastily removed them from the table. How do women do that?

Anita returned with an armful of books. Big, nasty textbooks. "Do I have to read those?" She gave me a look that made her look like a teacher. "Yes, you have to read these. Unless you want to go against your enemy without knowing anything about them?" She made it sound like a question, like she was doubting my intelligence. I made the wise choice. I picked up a book and started reading.

It was 2 AM. I had been reading for two hours. Anita was going here and there, cleaning up and tidying up the house. I asked her why she didn't go to sleep. She told me that she sleeps in the day. It's safer that way. I had to agree. But I was a nightsleeper. I seriously needed some sleep. I got up to go when a shiver ran down my neck. I turned to the window, at the same time Anita faced the window and pulled out her gun. There was a silent whoosh, the curtains flew back.

Standing in the moonlight, Heero stared at me. His eyes flicked to Anita, then back at me. His zaffer eyes looked at me reverently. Reverently? Something was definitely wrong.

"Don't move vamp, or I'll blow your heart out." Anita had sensed he was a vampire. Great. "It's okay," I said. "He's... uh... mine... I think." She turned to me. "What?" she exclaimed. I sighed. Then I motioned for Heero to come in. He obeyed. "This is Heero... I sorta created him somehow." Anita just shook her head. "Alright, start explaining." I did.

After I had explained the incident, twice, she sat in the armchair facing me and Heero on the sofa. Heero was staring blankly at her, resting in my lap. He was actually curled up on the sofa, resting his head in my lap, like a cat. I wondered when I had become the master. "So, let me get this straight," Anita said after a long silence. "He," pointing at Heero, "was created by you. However, he had complete control over you until he drank your blood." I nodded. She just closed her eyes. "Well, then what you told me about your dream must be true. You are part necromancer and part vampire." I sighed. I couldn't believe it. But the evidence was sitting in my lap. Literally. Heero turned his eyes up to look into mine. I didn't feel that same feeling of being controlled like the last time he looked at me. In fact, I felt the exact opposite. I was his master and he was mine to control. Mine.

"Okay, so what does me being a necromancer and Heero being under my power have to with anything?"
"Do you have any idea how a necromancer raises a zombie?"
I shook my head.

She sighed. Then she gave me a quick lecture about being a necromancer. "Necromancers have to perform a ritual to bring back the dead as a zombie. As you already know, we have to wait three days before we can animate anyone, or else the soul will prevent the body from reawakening. After three days, the soul will fly away, leaving the body free for reanimating. To perform the ritual, you usually have to make a sacrifice. Usually we use chickens, and if the body is more than a couple of decades old, then we use a goat. If the body is centuries old, then usually we need a human sacrifice. But I don't do that, and neither should you. It's murder."

All I did was nod. She continued. "To perform the ritual, you usually have to spread an ointment around your face. It's made of various herbs and such. I can teach you how to make some later. Also spread the ointment on the tombstone. After you've spread the ointment, you need to make the sacrifice and make a circle of blood. This will become a circle of power and no one can leave and no one can enter until you break it. Only the person who made the circle can break it. Then you say some spells. I'll give you a book, you can look it over." I asked, "Why don't you just tell me the spell?" She replied, "Because, he's here." She gestured towards Heero.
I was puzzled. "What does he have to do with anything?"
"He's one of the undead. The undead can't hear the animating spell, or they'll go haywire. Let's just say I learned that from experience."

I wasn't going to complain. She handed me the book. "Here," Anita said to Heero as she handed him a pile of books. "Carry these for your master." Heero looked at me and I nodded. He sat up and took the books wordlessly. "Oh yeah, and why is Heero treating me like his master?"

Anita laughed. She actually laughed. "Because, idiot, you let him drink your blood." Heero growled when Anita called me an idiot. She ignored him. "If you resurrect something, and you let it drink your blood, whether it be blood from your own body, or something you recently killed, that creature will be under your control. If it was blood from something you killed, then it will be under your control for three days, or until someone else gives it blood. You will need to feed it again after three days, or it will no longer be under your control. This kind of animation brings up a zombie that isn't very loyal. If it was your own blood, then the undead person or creature will be under your control for three weeks, but you will need to feed it again or it will die... again. These kind of zombies are loyal to you to the death. Did you get all that?"

I shook my head. The majority of it went over my head. "Well, all that information is in the book," she said as she pointed towards the book I was holding. "Good luck." I just nodded and walked out, Heero following me and balancing the books in his arms.

I walked back home, Heero quietly behind me. In fact, he was so quiet, it was like he wasn't there at all. "Oi, Heero. Could ya make some noise or something? It's kinda spooky with you bein' all quiet and stuff." Heero started scuffing his sneakers on the asphalt. "Thanks." We walked on, his shoes scraping along the way...

A step in the darkness caught my attention. It was a loud noise, like when the bad guy steps into the light in a movie. A dramatic sound. I whirled around. Heero was already poised to fight. A shadow smacked right into me. I flew far, maybe ten feet or so, my left shoulder and face scraping against the pavement. I groaned with the pain and touched my face. I had a bleeding scrape on it. I tried to reach for my gun when I saw the figure leap up towards me. I watched as my life flew by...

Another shadow flew across my vision and knocked into my attacker. Whatever it was, it threw the first figure off balance. They both rolled to the side. I tried to get back up, my vision swimming with spots. I watched as the two beings squared off. As the streetlight shone on them, I could pick out one of them as Heero. The other person was a tall man, at least a head taller than Heero. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt, black leather pants and a dark blue bandana on his head. He looked like a gang member turned stripper. They flew at each other, fangs bared and everything. They kept pouncing and clawing at each other. I finally had enough wits to pull out my gun. I aimed at the enemy.

I couldn't pull the trigger. They kept moving too fast for me to get in a good shot. I could barely keep an eye on them; they were just blurs in the night. Every time they entered the spotlight, more and more blood was seen. I worried about Heero's safety. I mean, he was only a vamp... right?

A tearing sound and a moan brought me to full attention. I looked into the light and the stranger had a hand inside Heero's stomach. "No!" I found myself screaming. The other man threw Heero off his hand. He landed in a pile outside of the light, a thunk resounding in the night, then silence. "Damn you!" I raised my gun to fire, but he came too close. He knocked the gun out of my hand and threw me to the ground, him on top of me. My head smashed against the ground. Even with all the spots in my vision, I managed to pull a knife out of my belt. I looked up into the man's face. Fangs protruded out of his maw. I stabbed the knife into his heart. It took at least a second for him to scream. I realized that my cross was now showing, and glowing. "Ha, you want some of this, huh? Ha!" I threw him off me and grabbed my knife out of his heart. He rolled onto the ground. By the time he staggered back up, I had snatched up my gun and I fired it into his heart.

"GRAOOAOWWWW!"

He uttered the creepiest sound I'd ever heard, and he stalked back towards me. "Crap crap crap," I muttered as I continued to fire into his advancing body. He took each hit with so much as a flinch. I was in deep trouble.

*Click, click.* My gun clicked on empty. Shit. My life flashed again for a second time that night.

*CRACK!*

The vamp's head was twisted completely around. I could see the back of his head. Another squishy sound announced the removal of his head. Heero had saved me. He took the head and threw it on the ground. The body fell, face first. Well, you know what I mean. Heero stood in the light, staring at me. He had a bloody stain where his stomach was. His hands were covered with blood and he was still holding the head of my attacker. Blood from scratches flowed around his face, framing it in the streetlight. He looked like an angel covered with blood. Or a devil. I couldn't tell anymore.

Anita is from the book... I just had to connect my fic and the book somehow... heh... I felt that the beginning of my fic was kinda abrupt, however, I did get further into the story than I thought I would.